THE HOLY SPIRIT
(Continued)
Luke 4:18,19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
These words were spoken by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth after returning from His forty days of temptation in the wilderness, during which time He had been fasting from all food.
Prior to His wilderness temptation, Jesus was baptized of John the Baptist in the River Jordan. In Luke's account he says in Chapter 3:21,22
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
In effect, following his baptism by immersion in the Jordan River, Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit in order to be able to accomplish His earthly ministry.
Although Jesus was and is the Christ, the Anointed Son of God, or God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, when He came to earth, He confined Himself to a human body just like ours with flesh and blood. Although He was still God, He was also fully man, having divested himself of His Godly attributes of omniscience (all knowing), omnipotence (all powerful), and omnipresence ( able to be everywhere at one time).
It is therefore easy to see that Jesus had to fully rely on the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit in order to carry out His earthly ministry effectively.
It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus which enabled Him to see the dead raised, the blind receive their sight, the lame to walk, the deaf and mute to hear and speak, the demonized to be set free of all Satanic oppression and bondage, all multitude of diseases and mental torments to be healed. He brought hope to those who had no hope, he spoke directly to situations in peoples' lives through words of knowledge, he prophesied concerning the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem in particular. He prophesied His own death and resurrection.
When he needed God's wisdom in addressing "traps" of the enemy laid by the scribes and Pharisees, the Holy Spirit enabled Him to respond always in a manner which showed insight which defeated his opponents schemes to trap and trip him.
For those who sat in great darkness, He came as a light. He was and still is the Light of the World. As He said in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
His message brought conviction of sin to the broken and humble, who in turn saw their lives transformed by the revelation of God's grace, mercy and love.
In all four Gospels, John the Baptist who was sent by God to "prepare the way for coming of the Messiah", Jesus, is recorded as saying concerning Jesus that it was He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke's accounts record John the Baptist saying Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a provision of the Lord for all believers subsequent to being born again or being saved (both Biblical terms). Our salvation does not depend on it, but our effectiveness in serving the Lord, and our fruitfulness in ministry may well depend on this provision. I once heard a quote from Rev. Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal minister in the USA who was at the forefront of the Charismatic Movement in the early 60's, where he stated words to the effect: "For a Christian to be born again but not baptized in the Holy Spirit is like sending a soldier to Vietnam without a rifle." (The Vietnam War was, of course raging at that time).
I was baptized in the Spirit in 1969 following water baptism, not immediately following, but as a result of prayer specifically for the Lord Jesus Christ to fill me with His Spirit - the same afternoon. I will forever be grateful to Bob and Jan MacPherson, a couple in the Church of England in Surfers Paradise, where I was attending church, who led a Wednesday night Charismatic home fellowship group.Teaching input from many, if not most of the leading figures God was using in the Charismatic Renewal at that time - people such as Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Dennis Bennett, Harald Bredesen, Charles Simpson, Howard Carter (who headed up the Logos Foundation), Paul and Bunty Collins from NZ, Michael Harper and many others - was provided through an extensive lending library of cassettes in Bob and Jan's home.
When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I spoke in tongues. I was overwhelmed with a physical sense of God's presence in my life - like electricity going through my body, but not at all unpleasant. I could not stand up for some time, and my experience caused me to understand why the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost had to say to those observing what had happened to the 120 on whom the Holy Spirit had been outpoured: "These are not drunk, as you suppose." I literally felt like I was drunk in the Spirit. Having said that, though, I know not everyone's experience will be the same.
Let me finish by stating again that I firmly believe, on the basis of the Word of God, that the Lord is wanting every believer in Jesus who has committed his or her life to Him, to avail themselves of the "Promise of the Father" - to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, to be empowered from on high, to be fully equipped for effective Christian life and ministry in these challenging times in which we live.
If you are reading this, and you are not a Christian, this all might sound a little strange to you. That should not at all be surprising, because the Bible says: The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14. The starting point to understanding the things of God is to be, as the Bible says born again.
For help in taking that step into a new life as a follower of Christ, as a Christian, may I suggest the following resource: www.vision.org.au
Click on the "Growing your faith" tab, then "Looking for God."
God Bless!
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
These words were spoken by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth after returning from His forty days of temptation in the wilderness, during which time He had been fasting from all food.
Prior to His wilderness temptation, Jesus was baptized of John the Baptist in the River Jordan. In Luke's account he says in Chapter 3:21,22
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
In effect, following his baptism by immersion in the Jordan River, Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit in order to be able to accomplish His earthly ministry.
Although Jesus was and is the Christ, the Anointed Son of God, or God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, when He came to earth, He confined Himself to a human body just like ours with flesh and blood. Although He was still God, He was also fully man, having divested himself of His Godly attributes of omniscience (all knowing), omnipotence (all powerful), and omnipresence ( able to be everywhere at one time).
It is therefore easy to see that Jesus had to fully rely on the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit in order to carry out His earthly ministry effectively.
It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus which enabled Him to see the dead raised, the blind receive their sight, the lame to walk, the deaf and mute to hear and speak, the demonized to be set free of all Satanic oppression and bondage, all multitude of diseases and mental torments to be healed. He brought hope to those who had no hope, he spoke directly to situations in peoples' lives through words of knowledge, he prophesied concerning the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem in particular. He prophesied His own death and resurrection.
When he needed God's wisdom in addressing "traps" of the enemy laid by the scribes and Pharisees, the Holy Spirit enabled Him to respond always in a manner which showed insight which defeated his opponents schemes to trap and trip him.
For those who sat in great darkness, He came as a light. He was and still is the Light of the World. As He said in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
His message brought conviction of sin to the broken and humble, who in turn saw their lives transformed by the revelation of God's grace, mercy and love.
In all four Gospels, John the Baptist who was sent by God to "prepare the way for coming of the Messiah", Jesus, is recorded as saying concerning Jesus that it was He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke's accounts record John the Baptist saying Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a provision of the Lord for all believers subsequent to being born again or being saved (both Biblical terms). Our salvation does not depend on it, but our effectiveness in serving the Lord, and our fruitfulness in ministry may well depend on this provision. I once heard a quote from Rev. Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal minister in the USA who was at the forefront of the Charismatic Movement in the early 60's, where he stated words to the effect: "For a Christian to be born again but not baptized in the Holy Spirit is like sending a soldier to Vietnam without a rifle." (The Vietnam War was, of course raging at that time).
I was baptized in the Spirit in 1969 following water baptism, not immediately following, but as a result of prayer specifically for the Lord Jesus Christ to fill me with His Spirit - the same afternoon. I will forever be grateful to Bob and Jan MacPherson, a couple in the Church of England in Surfers Paradise, where I was attending church, who led a Wednesday night Charismatic home fellowship group.Teaching input from many, if not most of the leading figures God was using in the Charismatic Renewal at that time - people such as Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Dennis Bennett, Harald Bredesen, Charles Simpson, Howard Carter (who headed up the Logos Foundation), Paul and Bunty Collins from NZ, Michael Harper and many others - was provided through an extensive lending library of cassettes in Bob and Jan's home.
When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I spoke in tongues. I was overwhelmed with a physical sense of God's presence in my life - like electricity going through my body, but not at all unpleasant. I could not stand up for some time, and my experience caused me to understand why the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost had to say to those observing what had happened to the 120 on whom the Holy Spirit had been outpoured: "These are not drunk, as you suppose." I literally felt like I was drunk in the Spirit. Having said that, though, I know not everyone's experience will be the same.
Let me finish by stating again that I firmly believe, on the basis of the Word of God, that the Lord is wanting every believer in Jesus who has committed his or her life to Him, to avail themselves of the "Promise of the Father" - to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, to be empowered from on high, to be fully equipped for effective Christian life and ministry in these challenging times in which we live.
If you are reading this, and you are not a Christian, this all might sound a little strange to you. That should not at all be surprising, because the Bible says: The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14. The starting point to understanding the things of God is to be, as the Bible says born again.
For help in taking that step into a new life as a follower of Christ, as a Christian, may I suggest the following resource: www.vision.org.au
Click on the "Growing your faith" tab, then "Looking for God."
God Bless!
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